


Sanderstale

by Ericthometer



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Spoilers - Undertale Pacifist Route, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-03-19 21:11:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 9,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18978430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ericthometer/pseuds/Ericthometer
Summary: Legends say those who climb Mt. Ebott never return...When Virgil Sanders and his brothers Patton, Logan, and Roman fall into the mountain, they discover a world of monsters and long-forgotten magic. And there is only one way out.





	1. Prologue

Virgil slowed down and leaned on the side of a tree, panting. The wind blew his hood off from over his head somewhere behind, leaving the top of his hair to get drenched. His purple-dyed bangs were plastered onto his forehead by freezing rain, the water streaming onto his face and neck and making his teeth chatter violently. He shook it off and tore the hood back over his head, tightening the drawstrings of his hoodie and taking a quick look back.  
Virgil had already climbed a ways along the trail, fast enough to lose them but slipping on wet rocks or tripping up over fallen branches along the way. Over the roar of the wind he made out the voices of his pursuers.  
"Virgil?"  
"Virgil!" They yelled over the storm. A flash of lightning jolted him to the trail ahead as he got to his bearings and started running again. A peal of thunder seemed to shake the ground, causing him to stumble and nearly fall over.  
"Virgil!" Came a shout from not that far behind. He needed to hide, quick. Virgil shot forward, looking for cover. He jumped from behind tree to tree as he could hear their footsteps getting closer, his heart racing and breath labored.  
Virgil spotted a cave a short distance ahead. Panicking, he bolted. Another crash of lightning split through the steel-gray sky as he ran into the cave. It was small, not looking very deep but damp and had a large hole in the middle with wild vines growing on the stone floor. He darted to the side and tried to slow his breathing, hugging his knees.  
The footsteps were closer now, getting louder. It sounded like two or three people were coming...  
"They're all looking for me?" He thought. Virgil started hyperventilating and slowly backing away from the opening of the cave.  
"Virgil!"  
"He might be in there!" He heard more clearly now. What could he do? He tried to shrink back and hug the wall, but as he followed it he realized he turned a bit too soon.  
He felt gravity pull him down from behind as Patton, followed by Roman and Logan rushed in. Patton surged forward and tried to take his hand, but Virgil only felt the tip of his fingers brush the edge of the crevice as he fell down.


	2. Fallen Down

Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: "Humans" and "Monsters."  
One day, war broke out between the two races.  
After a long battle, the humans were victorious. They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell.  
Many years later...  
Mt. Ebott, 201X.  
Legends say that those who climb the mountain never return.  
...

Virgil slowly opened his eyes, squinting into the dark cavern ahead. He tried unsuccessfully to get up, but his legs felt like lead and his arms could barely hold him. Virgil took a breath and pushed up, balancing enough to sit up. He found himself in a bed of golden flowers, clinging to his clothes and flattened where his body was. He brushed his hoodie sleeves off and tried again to get up, pushing off the ground for support. His legs were weak, but he could stand.  
"Ah!" Virgil turned, immediately seeing Patton in a heap on the ground, letting out a sharp breath as he stumbled. He rushed over to him and hoisted him up.  
"Patton, are you okay?" Patton groaned softly and rubbed his side.  
"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I dropped my glasses." Virgil bent over and retrieved them from the flower bed. They had a crack splitting one of the lenses, but they were intact.  
"Here."  
"Thank you." He winced as he flexed his leg, evidently it had fallen asleep. "Are Logan and Roman okay?"  
They had also, albeit slowly, come to. Roman patted his shirt and pants to swipe off the dirt and Logan stood, though his glasses were in much worse condition. He tightened his tie, as he did often when he was nervous.  
"We're fine." Roman managed.  
"Virgil..." Patton asked. "Why did you run away like that?"  
"Patton, if I may..." Logan interjected, much to Virgil's relief, "...now may not be the best time to ask that question. We should be asking how to get out of here."  
Patton grimaced, relenting. "Okay, what should we do?"  
"Phone's not working." Roman chimed in. "No data, can't even make an emergency call... I'll lose at least fifty insta followers if I don't post on my evening story."  
"My god, Roman, can you not right now?" Virgil clenched his fist.  
"May I remind you that you're the one who got us all trapped down here?"  
"I didn't ask you to follow me!" Patton started fidgeting uncomfortably with the hem of his shirt.  
"Hey!" Logan raised his voice, interrupting. "Now's not the time, as I just said. It looks like there's a door down the end of this cavern, so there might be another way out."  


...

The four pushed the door open with a loud creak, entering into a dimly lit hall. A single, small golden flower was in the center, and was almost ignored until it spoke.  
"Howdy!" It piped up cheerfully. They jumped back, Logan staring at it incredulously. "I'm Flowey, Flowey the flower!"  
"Well, I must've hit my head on the way down." Virgil mumbled. Roman shook his head slowly as Flowey spoke.  
"Hmm... you're new to the underground, aren'tcha? Golly, you must be so confused." Flowey simpered. "Someone ought to teach you all how things work around here! I guess little old me will have to do." He giggled. "Ready? Here we go!"  
Suddenly a large heart shape appeared in front of each of their chests, purple for Virgil, red for Roman, and light blue and dark blue for Patton and Logan. Virgil tried to touch it, but his hand passed through as he waved it.  
"See those hearts?" Flowey continued. "Those are your souls, the very culmination of your being. It starts out weak, but it can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV."  
"LV?" Roman mouthed.  
"What's LV stand for? Why, love, of course! You want some love, don't you?" Patton gave a little smile, relaxing, though Virgil and Logan exchanged wary looks.  
"Don't worry, I'll share some with you!" He said, winking. Several white magic bullets appeared above him, spinning in midair. "Down here, love is shared through little white... 'friendliness pellets.'" Flowey had a rather shifty-eyed look as he said that. Virgil took a cautious step back, giving Roman a warning glance. "Are you ready? Move around! Catch as many as you can!" The bullets flew, Virgil and Logan dodging them while a couple grazed Roman's arm. Patton didn't quite get the message, and caught the blunt of the attack. He tripped backward from the force of the bullets, falling on his back and clutching his stomach, trying to catch his breath. The others tried to help him back up, but they froze in place, their soul-hearts stuck as a white box bound them in place.  
"Patton!" Roman gasped as he struggled to move. Flowey's face contorted, baring his teeth in a fanged grin. "Ha! You idiots! In this world, it's kill or be killed! Why would anyone pass up an opportunity like this?" The others struggled to move as a ring of violently spinning bullets circled Patton, slowly closing in as Flowey gave a psychotic, shrieking laugh.


	3. The Ruins- Part 1

"Die." Flowey growled. They screamed as the bullets hit their mark.  
But nothing happened.  
Patton slowly reopened his eyes, his expression going from terror to confusion. It was silent except for the four's ragged breaths, Virgil's heart pounding out of his chest.  
Flowey's smile disappeared, replaced with a furious unblinking stare. He opened his mouth to say something, but all that could come out was a high-pitched screech as a fireball struck him from behind.  
"What a terrible creature torturing such poor, innocent youths." A towering feminine figure approached from the end of the tunnel. In the dim light they could make out a smiling monster in purple-and-white robes. She was covered in white fur with a kindly caprine muzzle, two small fangs, long ivory horns curling out above her head and had a maternal look about her. Virgil was still (understandably) uneasy after the Flower encounter, but the others seemed to relax a bit in spite of themselves.  
"Ah, do not be afraid, my children." She said, her gaze passing over Virgil's suspicious expression. "I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first humans to come down here in..." Toriel looked off. "...a long time. Come!" She said, smiling. "I will guide you through the catacombs. This way." She beckoned. Their souls vanished and they found they could move again. Patton followed her and the others followed suit, though Virgil had some reservations. It seemed a little odd to him that Flower had just almost killed Patton and yet he was following this new monster to his probable death, to put it mildly, but then again Patton never was one for logic. That was more Logan's forte, but he was following her as well, so Virgil trailed behind. Hopefully they'd be too distracted to ask him any further questions, but who knew how long they'd be down there? He hoped she was leading them to the exit.  
They entered into a large, rather more well-lit room. The walls seemed to be hewn from a purplish stone, though several of the bricks were cracked with age and ivy covered them mostly up to the ceiling. Crimson leaves were strewn about the floor, and crackled under their footsteps. Two high-reaching staircases flanked on either side of the end of the hall, opening further into the next hall. The shadow of the Ruins loomed above, filling them with determination.


	4. The Ruins- Part 2

Toriel turned, smiling as the four entered. "Welcome to your new home, innocent ones." Patton gave her a curious look, which was the mildest reaction of the four. Logan, Roman, and Virgil gave varying degrees of quizzical faces, the latters' a bit less mild. Toriel didn't seem to notice.  
"Allow me to educate you in the operation of the Ruins." She walked over to a set of metal pressure plates on the side of the room, stepping on them in a square patter, then making her way to the door and flipping a nearby switch, opening it. Logan stared at the puzzle. She'd done it before, of course, but how'd she do that so fast?  
"The Ruins are full of 'puzzles,' ancient fusions between diversions and door keys. One must solve them to move from room to room." She smiled patiently. "Please adjust yourself to the sight of them." Toriel proceeded through the door, with Patton, Logan, and Roman in tow. Virgil glanced at a sign beside the door, inscribed "Only the fearless may proceed. Brave ones, foolish ones. Both walk not the middle road." He frowned at that.  
Virgil went through the door, entering into a room with bright, flowing water and old bridges built over them. Across the bridges were a set of switches, though a couple of them had very obvious, large-print yellow markings pointing to them.  
"To make progress here, you will need to trigger several switches. Do not worry, I have labelled those you need to flip." They went to each of the labelled switches, clicking them on. Roman noticed a sign in the far side of the room as the others started the puzzle, going off the path to read it.  
"Stay on the path." It read. He shook his head disbelievingly and rejoined the three. There were only two other switches in the room, but they were unlabelled. Logan, having taken charge of the puzzle, shot a glance at Toriel for a clue, but she only smiled back and waited. The third switch didn't even work, but as he pressed on the fourth switch the set of spikes blocking the doorway behind Toriel retracted, and the way was open.  
"Splendid!" She beamed. "I am proud of you, young ones. Let us move to the next room." Virgil pulled Logan aside as they took up the back, talking in hushed tones.  
"Am I the only one who finds this a bit suspicious?"  
"Admittedly no." Logan responded. "Which is why I've been attempting to memorize each puzzle in case we need to... you know. She does seem a bit patronizing, doesn't she?" Virgil nodded.  
"She's talking to us like children. I mean, she hasn't done anything 'weird' yet, per se, but..."  
"False sense of security?" Logan guessed. Before Virgil could respond, they entered a rather small room, with only a dummy and an already open door, which Toriel went over to and blocked.  
"As humans living in the Underground, monsters may attack you. You will need to be prepared for this situation." She said this with a rather uncharacteristic assertiveness. "However, worry not!" She said, returning to her normal tone. "The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a fight. While you are in a fight, strike up a friendly conversation." Virgil snerked. "Bless you." Toriel said. "Now, while you fight, stall for time. I will come to resolve the conflict. Practice talking to the dummy."


	5. The Ruins- Part 3

Patton stepped forward, the others getting into place awkwardly behind him. His soul appeared again as he encountered the dummy.  
"Um, hello."  
"..." The dummy didn't seem much for conversation, but Toriel seemed happy with him.  
"That... wasn't much of a fight." Roman commented. Patton turned and shrugged.  
"She said to strike up a friendly conversation." Logan made a face, but Toriel spoke before he could say anything.  
"Ah, very good! You are very good." She smiled, Patton returning it. "Please let him be an example." Toriel supplied, turning and entering the next room. "There is another puzzle in this room... I wonder if you can solve it?"  
"More puzzles?" Logan said with a mix of interest and exasperation. They followed Toriel to the other side of the room, but halfway through a small, frog-like creature hopped out at Virgil from out of nowhere. His soul appeared as the creature, Froggit, began the fight. The others heard a gasp of surprise and croaking from behind them, turning to see Virgil in the battle.  
"Don't Panic." Logan advised. Patton caught Virgil's attention as the Froggit jumped in front of him.  
"Compliment him!"  
"What?" Virgil mouthed. A couple of slow-moving fly-bullets appeared overhead, but he easily dodged them. "It's attacking me, if you didn't notice!" Patton ignored him.  
"Just say something nice! Come on!" He winced, thinking of something to say.  
"Um... I like your eyes?" Froggit blinked, apparently not understanding but blushing anyway. Toriel walked back over to him and gave the Froggit a glare. It hopped away nervously. They continued after checking that Virgil was alright (he was, and oddly enough he noticed a cut on his arm from earlier had vanished), passing by a sign on the way to the end of the room.  
"The western room is the eastern room's blueprint."  
They stopped in front of Toriel, who looked worriedly at a maze of spikes lining the floor.  
"This is a puzzle, but... here, take my hand for a moment." Roman walked up and took her hand, joining hands with Logan, Patton, and Virgil in-line. The only ones comfortable with this were Patton and Toriel. She led them through, the spikes giving way as they stepped over the correct plates. After Virgil stepped onto the solid floor at the end and they let go of each other's hands, she turned back again and addressed them.  
"Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now." They proceeded into the next room.  
...  
As they entered, they found that it was, in fact, a rather massive and long purple-bricked hallway, so much so they could almost not see the other side of the room. Toriel had an odd look on her face as she spoke.  
"You all have done excellently thus far, my children. However, I have a difficult request to ask of you." She frowned. "...I would like you to walk to the end if this room by yourselves. Forgive me for this." Toriel ran to the other side of the room and hid behind a faded marble column.  
"Okay, real talk." Roman spoke up. "She's called us 'children' at least twice now. That's kinda..." Logan nodded. "well, you know. Not to mention doing all that just now." He lowered his voice. "Can we trust her?"  
Patton scoffed. "Roman, I'm surprised at you! Has she given us a reason not to trust her?"  
"Patton, she's being awfully patronizing, which is suspicious to say the least." Logan supplied.  
"Logan, it's rude to talk about people behind their backs, not to mention that she's only been helping us this whole time."  
"She could be trying to trick us." Virgil said. Patton frowned. "Come on, Virge. If she's trying to trick us she's laying it on real thick." Roman raised his eyebrows. "I mean, I suppose that's one way to think about it." He glanced at Logan, who shrugged and adjusted his glasses.  
"It's... plausible. Not to mention we don't have much of a choice but to follow her." Virgil frowned.  
"Well, I guess, but we need to have a plan at least, if she..."  
"She won't." Patton's face began to redden a bit. "I know you guys don't trust her, but I do. If she does try to trap us then we'll escape." Logan nodded.  
"I've been memorizing the puzzles, so we should be able to run if we need to. If not, then it's four against one." Patton crossed his arms, but his face stopped flushing. "Only if it comes down to it, but please at least give her a try. She's behind that pillar, by the way." He started walking to the other side of the room. Roman sighed. "Guys, we should listen to him."  
"Yes, that would probably be wise. We have to stay together." Logan commented. "Virgil?" Virgil didn't meet his gaze, staring at the floor blankly. After a moment he blinked a couple of times and nodded. The three followed Patton and reached the end of the room. Toriel walked out from behind the pillar.  
"Greetings, my children. Do not worry, I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time." They ignored how obvious it was for her sake. "Thank you for trusting me. However, there was an important reason for this exersize... to test your independence. I must attend to business, and you must stay alone for a while. Please remain here- it's dangerous to explore by yourself. I have an idea." She fished in her pocket and brought out a rather brick-like device. "I will give you a cell phone. If any of you have a need for anything, just call. Be good, alright?" With that, she smiled and left.


	6. The Ruins- Part 4

The four looked down at the phone in Patton's hands. It was a rather old-looking flip phone, with a short antenna sticking out if the top and large, scratched dial-up buttons.  
"That thing's ancient." Roman muttered. Logan took it and turned it over in his hands.  
"Can't even tell what company made it." He clicked the home screen. "The only contact on it is hers." Logan gave it back to Patton, who clicked through the menu screen.  
"We should call her." He said, dialing.  
"What? No." Virgil furrowed his eyebrows.  
"Why not?" Patton asked, holding up the phone to his ear.  
"'Cause..." He put his hand on his forehead as Toriel picked up. "We just talked to her a minute ago." Virgil whispered. Patton waved his hand, smiling and turning to the wall.  
"This is Toriel."  
"Hi Toriel, wanted to say hello."  
"You only wanted to say hello? Well then, 'hello.' I hope that suffices, hee hee."  
"Err, well... since I'm already calling you..."  
"Yes, my child?"  
"Could you tell me more about yourself?" Logan began to walk to the next room, Roman and Virgil in tow as he made a 'follow me' gesture, giving Patton a pointed look.  
"You want to know more about me? Well, I am afraid there is not much to say. I am just a silly old lady who worries too much!"  
"Haha, okay. By the way, I was wondering if... we could call you mom?"  
There was silence on the line for a moment.  
"Well... I suppose... Would that make you happy... to call me 'mother?'"  
"Yeah, if it's alright."  
"Well then, call me whatever you like!"  
"Oh, hey mom?"  
"Yes?"  
"...You look nice in that dress."  
There was a bit of muffled laughter. "Huh? Oh, heh... heh... Ha ha ha! How adorable, I could just pinch your cheek! You can certainly find better than an old woman like me." The call ended with a click, Patton blushing lightly. As he entered the next room, the others gave him an obtuse look.  
"Did you..." Logan grimaced. "Just flirt with someone you called 'mom?'"  
"Um, yes. Don't you ever flirt with your mom?" Logan frowned, though the others caught on quick enough.  
"We all have the same mother. Why would-? Oh." He got the joke. (Their mother became a bit... non-committal a few years before. They still loved her though, even after the divorce, and their step-father was alright.) "I see. Anyway..." He said turning to move forward. Suddenly, the phone rang.  
"Hello? This is Toriel." She said. Patton somehow got the phone to go into speaker mode. "You have not left the room, have you? There are quite a few puzzles ahead that I have yet to explain. It would be dangerous to try to solve them yourselves. Be good, alright?" She hung up. They gave each other awkward glances for a moment, but pressed on. Another Froggit hopped in their path, Virgil apprehensively taking a step back. It did not fight, however.  
"Ribbit, ribbit." It croaked. "Excuse me, human. I have some advice for you about battling monsters. If you act a certain way or fight until you almost defeat them... They may not want to fight you anymore. If a monster does not want to fight you, please, use some mercy human. Ribbit." It hopped away. The four went forward, Patton stopping at a pile of red leaves and jumping in them. He seemed to be having fun, so Roman fell into a heap of them and laid there. Virgil took a seat, leaning on the wall for a brief respite, watching Patton and Roman do their thing. (They didn't get to do this type of thing very much as children; they had to grow up quick, each in their own ways.) Eventually Logan walked over and stood in the leaves, slightly crunching them but otherwise not doing much of anything. Playfully crinkling through the leaves filled them with determination.  
After leaf-ing that room (leaving), they encountered a few other Froggits and a couple of Whimsuns, meek moth-like creatures that Virgil could honestly relate to a little too much. All Roman really contributed to that encounter was saying "mood." They spared the monsters, of course, only getting a few bruises if they weren't careful. There were also quite a few puzzles, though they weren't as dangerous as expected. Even the fall-through rooms (which Logan mentioned needed serious contractor work) weren't terribly difficult to solve. After a while, the phone rang again.  
"Hello? This is Toriel. For no reason in particular... which do you prefer? Cinnamon or Butterscotch?  
"Butterscotch is good." Patton said.  
"Butterscotch." Logan decided. Roman and Virgil both preferred Cinnamon, however.  
"Oh, I see." Toriel said slowly. "None of you... dislike butterscotch or cinnamon, do you?"  
"Uh, no. Don't think so, mom." Patton said after looking over the others' expressions.  
"Okay, thank you very much! Thank you for being patient, by the way." The phone clicked. Passing by a sign reading "Three out of four grey rocks recommend you push them," they pushed a few grey rocks on the floor in that particular room to finish that puzzle. Entering another room, they attempted to solve another puzzle of the spike-pressure plate-grey rock varsity, though when they pushed the rock, evidently it was one of the 1/4 rocks that do not recommend being pushed.  
"Whoa there, pardner! Who said you could push me around?"  
"Well, could you please move for us?" Roman said, somewhat impatiently.  
"Hmm? So you're askin' me to move over? Okay, just for you, pumpkin." It didn't seem to be a very perceptive sentient rock, as it didn't move and stay on the pressure plate until they managed to convince it. Passing the next room they encountered a line of Moldsmals, odd, gelatinous creatures strongly resembling a jello mold (as opposed to a fungus). The four spared them, though after Patton and Roman did a sort of choreographed dance to befriend them. Logan found the underground increasingly full of nonsense.  
The next room they entered had a small, wooden table with a bit of cheese on it and a mousehole in the wall. The cheese looked like it had been there for quite a long time, and was stuck to the table. Knowing the mouse might one day leave its hole and get the cheese filled them with determination.


	7. Napstablook

The next room was fairly small, opening into a thin passageway, just wide enough for someone to walk through. There was, however, what appeared to be a large, translucent bedsheet-like figure lying on the floor. Patton went up to it, but found he couldn't go around or step over it. (Or rather, he could, but that would be rude and awkward, so...) The others approached it, hearing a soft snore.  
"Is... is he asleep?" Roman asked quietly. Patton leaned in and listened to make sure.  
"zzzzzzzzzzzz.....zzzzzzzzz.... zzzzzzzzz.... (are they gone yet?)" The ghost whispered. "zzzzzzz...." Apparently he kept saying 'z' repeatedly, pretending to be asleep. Logan straightened up.  
"Should we move him with force?"  
"No!" Patton interjected. "That'd be rude. At least ask him first."  
"Fine." Logan adjusted his glasses.   
"Excuse me, Mr. Ghost." Patton started. "Would you please move for us?"  
"zzzzzzz...." The ghost responded. He frowned.  
"Okay, but be gentle." Logan tried to move the ghost, but his hands phased through. Suddenly their souls appeared as the battle began. Napstablook really didn't look like he wanted to fight, he was actually a bit sad-looking, for a ghost.  
"Aww. He looks kind of sad, why don't we cheer him up?" Patton asked. He gave Napstablook a patient smile.  
"Because he's attacking us!" Logan muttered quickly, dodging a tear-bullet attack. He did look a little better, though.  
"Virge! Tell him a joke!" Patton said, smiling as he moved out of the way of a tear. Dancing around the bullets had become sort of a game for him, oddly enough.  
"You're the pun guy." Virgil retorted.  
"So he's the 'punn-y' one?" Roman said, darting to the left.  
"See? I'm not the jokes guy."  
"Come on! Make a ghost joke, he might like it!" Patton said smiling.  
"Umm... What happens to a ghost in an elevator?" Virgil asked, Napstablook tilting his head. "His spirits are lifted."  
"Heh..." He laughed, though probably out of pity. "Let me try..." Instead of doing his next attack, his tear-bullets went upward and made a top hat. "I call it 'Dapper blook.'" He said, eagerly awaiting their response.  
"I love it!" Patton commented. Napstablook smiled half-heartedly.  
"Oh, gee..." The fight faded out. "I usually come to the Ruins because there's nobody around, but today I met somebody nice... Oh, I'm rambling again, aren't I? I'll get out of your way." With that, he disappeared.  
"Reminds ya of someone, huh?" Patton said, raising his eyebrows at Virgil. He half-smiled and walked to the next room with the others.


	8. Home

Going through the opening they entered into yet another hall in the labyrinth, like its predecessors mostly bare and showing signs of age. Aside from a couple of Froggit encounters, it was quiet, and the air was a bit more breathable. The four stayed there for a while, examining the gold they won in their last few battles. There was, in total, eight coins, mostly dirty, tarnished, or wedged in places, but they were still real gold, and glowed in the torchlight. Staring at the coins became a bit boring after a while, though, and they went on, passing a sign with a bit of cobweb hanging off it.  
"Did you miss it?" It read. "Spider Bakesale down and to the right." Patton's eyes widened.  
"A wh-what bakesale?"  
"'Spider,' evidently. Now as for what that means..." Logan commented.  
"Come eat food made for spiders, by spiders, and of spiders!" Roman read.  
"That's horrific." Patton said, grimacing as he thought about what food made of spiders would look like (just the thought of those insect-or-spider lollipops made his stomach go cold.)  
"It's metal." Virgil said, cracking a slight smirk. "Let's go see it."  
"Maybe let's not... do that..." Patton suggested meekly.  
"If it's any consolation, Patton." Logan pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "They're probably baked goods in the shape of spiders, or something of that nature." He nodded his head a little.  
"Yes, hopefully." The four proceeded to the next room, down and to the right, and on to the Spider Bakesale.  
It turned out Logan was wrong, and the goods were exactly as advertised. (Much to Patton's dismay, who stood at the farthest edge of the room, eyes darting around for any signs of stray bakers.) The spiders, thankfully, were rather small and well-mannered, inching down the money collection web to retrieve seven of their gold pieces and handing the boys a Spider Donut.  
Patton kept staring at it warily even as they left the Bakesale room, only taking his eyes off it when Roman found a spare sandwich bag in his backpack and put it in. (Patton had become very grateful to Logan for taking an extra second to snag Roman's backpack before they ran out of the house.) The cell phone began to ring again.  
"Hello?" Toriel asked. "I just realized it has been a while since I have cleaned up. I was not expecting to have company so soon. There are probably a lot of things lying about here and there. You can pick them up, but do not carry more than you need. Someday you might see something you really like... You will want to leave room in your pockets for that." The call ended. The four found that a rather obtuse thing to mention (especially since they already started collecting things,) but they didn't mention it.  
Through the next few rooms they found a colored-switch system behind several pillars. It took quite a bit of experimenting to get the spikes blocking the exit to retract, but after a couple of minutes they hit the right switch combination. Going through the hall they came upon a much wider, more open space than the maze, with a large opening in the wall. The cave ceiling was far higher now, the walls high but only barely reaching the top. Walking through the opening they came upon a small, one-story house hewn of the same purple stone, with red-leafed bushes below the windows and a path leading through the yard, circling around a tall, black tree with bare branches and a pile of old, cherry-red leaves at its roots. Toriel turned out from behind the tree, looking down at her cell phone.  
"Oh dear, that took longer than I thought it would." She muttered, dialing. Toriel glanced up and noticed them before hitting the last button, stowing the phone in her pocket and rushing over to them.  
"How did you get here, my children?" She asked, her voice wavering. "Are you hurt?" Aside from a couple of scratches, they were mostly fine, though Logan was a bit slow in the last Froggit encounter and had a scrape on his arm. "There, there. I will heal you." Toriel passed her hand over them, their bruises fading out and Logan's scrape healing. "I should not have left you four alone for so long. It was irresponsible to try and surprise you like this. Err... I suppose I cannot hide it any longer. Come small ones!" (The fact-of-the-matter was that Toriel was really quite tall, and upright stood at least a foot and a half above their heads, as they were all roughly average adolescent height. Still, they weren't that short compared to her.) As she walked along the path back into her house, they took a moment to admire it; seeing such a cute, tidy house in the Ruins filled them with determination.  
The four filed into the house, entering a large living room with a set of stairs leading below. It was very well lit, the brightness from lamps and wall sconces giving the space a yellowish-gold glow, fitting for its comfortable warmth from the fireplace. (Admittedly they were expecting something a bit less... accommodating given the circumstances, so this was a pleasant surprise.) "Do you smell that?" Toriel asked, turning toward them with a gleam in her eye. Patton smelled the air, and could just pick up a rich, baked smell coming from the kitchen to the far left of the living room.  
"Surprise! It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie. I thought we might celebrate your arrival. I want you to have a nice time living here. So I will hold off on snail pie for tonight." Patton slightly frowned at the thought of more food like the Spider Donut, though the others were a bit more concerned about the "living here" part. "Here. I have another surprise for you." She led them through a carpeted hallway to the right, with a couple modest sets of mirrors hanging on the walls and vases of flowering houseplants on small tables touching the wall.  
"This is it..." She took Patton's hand, though Logan, Roman, and Virgil elected not to hold hands this time. Toriel stopped at the first door, turning back around and patting their heads good-naturedly. "A room of your own. I'm sorry about the lack of space; if it discomforts you I can free up the other room..." She said reluctantly, eyeing the room at the end of the hallway.  
"I think we can manage." Patton said, opening the bedroom door. "Thanks, mom." Toriel giggled softly. "So polite." She said, putting her hand on his cheek for a moment. Toriel looked over each of them, her gaze stopping at Virgil's ripped jeans. "Oh, dear. Would you like me to mend them for you? I may have some black thread somewhere..."  
"Oh, um." Virgil blushed. "No, that's okay. They're supposed to be like that."  
"Pardon?"  
"It's a style thing. I like them ripped." She blinked.  
"Ah, I see. Well, they are indeed stylish, I suppose." The wafting butterscotch-cinnamon smell suddenly turned a bit smoky. "Is something burning...? Um, make yourselves at home!"


	9. Home- Part 2

The bedroom was a vivid light red, colored by a rosy lampshade on a lamp on the side of the room on cherry-red diamond-patterned wallpaper. It was a nice and tidy room, though small, with a carpet similar the the hallway's, a plush twin bed, an armoire, a dresser, and several children's things, namely a couple of stuffed monster-dolls and a framed drawing of a flower. Patton found it... charming, though the room was obviously rather quaint and much more suited for children. He sat down on the bed as Roman set his backpack on the floor, Virgil leaning on the wall and Logan looking through the dresser.  
"Hey, Pat?" Virgil asked, tapping his foot on the carpet.  
"Hmm?" He looked up.  
"What's... what's the plan, here?" Patton blinked.  
"Pardon?"  
"Well..." Virgil started uncomfortably. "We obviously can't stay here, you know."  
"Why's that?"  
"'Cause we can't just live here, Patton, you know that. She wants to take care of us, but we're not children. We can't expect her to do that for us, it's not right." Roman sat on the bed next to Patton.  
"You ran away, Virge. I'd think you'd want to stay." Virgil rubbed his arm.  
"It would be nice, but you guys have futures, you have your lives ahead of you. You need to get back to the surface."  
"Why are you saying 'you?'" Logan asked. "Are you deciding to stay?"  
"No. Even if I did, well..." He sighed. "I'd get lonely without you guys. We all have to get to the surface, whatever happens." Patton looked disappointed, but nodded slowly.  
"We have to stay together. I hoped we could all be a- a family again, down here, but you're right. We can't expect her to take care of us like that. I understand." Roman hugged him.  
"We'll have to ask how to get out next chance we get." Logan suggested. "In the meantime, we may want to rest."  
They turned off the lamp, the bedroom dark but still very dimly lit by the the light from the hallway at the bottom of the door. Patton got the bed, Roman using his backpack as a pillow, while Logan sat in the corner loosely hugging his knees and Virgil lied on the carpet.

Toriel knocked softly on the door, waiting a moment for a response. It was quiet, and the space under it was dark. She knocked again, though still rather quietly. After waiting a couple of seconds again, she opened the door a crack, peering in. The light from the hallway shone on Patton's face, making him stir a little. The sound of quiet breathing filled the room, and Toriel was half-tempted to leave them be. She stepped over to the lamp and clicked it on, the room brightening. The four opened their eyes slowly, blinking a couple of times as they sat up.  
"Hello, young ones." She said softly. "I am sorry to wake you, but the your pie has been finished for a while now and may get cold. I've set your plates on the dining table, if you wish to eat. If not, I will save them for later." (They were all, as it turned out, rather hungry after not eating for so long; it was probably already the next day, if not several hours after their last meal, and the Spider Donut wasn't inherently appetizing.) They each got up and entered into the hallway as Toriel left for the living room.

She set four plates of butterscotch-cinnamon pie on placemats as the four sat down, giving each a shiny, long-unused-looking fork and knife and a napkin. There weren't enough chairs for her to sit down at the table, so she stood over them for a moment as they situated themselves.  
"Thank you for the pie, mom."  
"You're quite welcome, my child. I hope you all enjoy it. Shall we say grace before we eat?" The four lowered their heads as she said grace, finishing with an "amen" around the table before they ate. The pie was rather rich and a lot more flavorful than anticipated, mostly sweet with a hint of caramelized savor, and was very filling. Before Toriel sat down in her armchair, she turned and addressed them.  
"Um, I want you all to know how glad I am to have someone here. There are so many old books I want to share, and I hope I can show you by favorite bug-hinting spot sometime. I've also prepared a curriculum for your education." Logan perked up at that, in spite of himself. "This may come as a surprise to you... but I have always wanted to be a teacher. Actually that probably isn't that surprising, but still. I am glad to have you all living here."

They finished up their pie, Patton offering to do the dishes but ultimately being turned down. The others, for lack of internet connection, struck up conversation for Toriel as Patton picked up the dishes and silverware (emphasizing much to the point of near-begging), though agreed not to do the dishes. (He always liked to be helpful that way, though it offput people on occasion.)  
"Would you like to hear about the book I am reading?" She asked, lifting her book up a bit and taking off her purple reading glasses. "It is called '72 Uses for Snails.' How about it?"  
"Sure." Logan said, genuinely puzzled as to how there could be that many practical uses for snails.  
"Here is an exciting snail fact: Did you know that snails... sometimes flip their digestive systems as they mature? Interesting."  
"Yeah."  
"Oh, dear me. Your name is 'Roman,' if I recall correctly?" She asked, looking at Roman.  
"Yes, ma'am."  
"Did you know that one of the alternate names of the edible Helix pomatia is the 'Roman snail?' Fascinating."  
Virgil began to find her preoccupation with snails to be a rather entertaining eccentricity, suppressing a laugh as she recited various snail facts to Logan.  
"Excuse me, uh, mom." Roman said, a serious look on his face as Patton re-entered the room, half realizing they would notice if he tried to do the dishes and half wanting to hear the snail facts. Toriel was happily taken aback at another one of them calling her 'mom,' but she recovered quickly.  
"What is it, my child?"  
"How do we leave the ruins?" There was a terrible silence in the room for what seemed a long while, until she set her book and glasses aside and stood.  
"...I have to do something." Toriel said gravely. "Stay here."


	10. Heartache

The four stood there in confusion as she rushed out of the room and down the stairs. They were silent and still for a couple of seconds, processing. Roman broke the silence.  
"Should- should we go see what that was about?" He asked, an ominous feeling coming over them.  
"She said to stay here." Patton mentioned, though half-convinced they should investigate anyway. "Might be dangerous." Virgil and Logan both had some reservations, (the former probably more than the latter), but without much need for speech they caught each other's glances and collectively went downstairs.  
The lower level opened into a long, dark hallway, the far-off glow of torchlight and light from the stairway only slightly brightened the puple-stone hall, enough to where they could make out each other and their general direction. They didn't have to go far to run into Toriel however, who turned back toward them with a solemn look.  
"You wish to return 'home,' do you not?" Her voice was heavy, and Patton took a step back out of trepidation. "Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins, a one-way exit to the rest of the Underground. I am going to destroy it." A wave of panic went through them. "No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be good young ones and go upstairs." She strode forward, robes billowing behind her. Though it would be easier to go back upstairs and let her, they knew in their hearts they had to get to the surface. They could not let her. Roman led the way as the four pressed on, hurrying to catch up to Toriel. She turned around again as she noticed them, and stopped.  
"Every human that comes down here meets the same fate. They come, they leave, they die. You naïve children... if you leave the Ruins, they, Asgore, will kill you. I am only protecting you, do you not understand?" Her voice was a bit thicker now, and she blinked a couple of times before her face hardened. "Go to your room." She only took a few steps forward before they continued to follow her. Toriel stopped again, her jaw set. "Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning." She entered into the next chamber, though for a long moment they stood there.  
"Guys..." Patton said, fidgeting. "Maybe we shouldn't do this."  
"We have to." Roman said, plucking up his fair bit of courage. "We can't be trapped down here forever."  
"She's been good to us."  
"I know, and I hate to break her trust like this, but we must get back to the surface." Patton looked like he wanted to say something, but he closed his mouth and lowered his head. Virgil gave him a quick shoulder-pat of support as they entered the chamber. The room had only a large, purple door with an engraved symbol. Toriel stood, unmoving, in front of the door, her fists clenched.  
"You want to leave so badly? Hmph. You are just like all the others. There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself..." She turned around, eyes blazing and bright, ember-like sparks flittering from her hands. "Prove to me you are strong enough to survive!" Their Souls appeared, and the battle began.

Toriel looked off, averting their eyes as she attacked. They could barely move out of the way of her first barrage, flames narrowly missing their bodies as the fireballs exploded onto the ground. Patton's heart pounded; was she really that powerful, or did the other monsters hold back? He clambered onto the wall and hoisted himself up, one of the buttons on his shirt missing and a wispy scorch-mark in its place.  
"Mom!" He shouted, pushing himself off the wall. "We don't have to fight!" Toriel said nothing, averting their gaze as she prepared another attack. Logan jumped into the fray, clenching his fists as he stood his ground.  
"Toriel, this is senseless! Let us go!" She frowned, but still said nothing. A stream of flames entered into his path, hitting him on the leg before he could jump away. He cried out, the smell of burnt fabric and smoke strong in the air. Logan fell to the other side of the room, clutching his leg. His pants were ripped and smoldering at the contact point, his skin underneath pink and hairs burnt off. He used his arm to muscle himself back up the wall, and he could somewhat stand with support. Patton gasped. "Logan!" Roman stepped out in front of him, barring Patton from coming near. He had a dangerous look in his eye.  
"Toriel, stop this! We won't fight you!" She blinked a few times, slightly trembling as she threw a line of fireballs. Roman rolled to dodge them, one grazing his shoulder. He held onto it, steeling himself. Virgil jumped in, shaking but determined.  
"Do you really want to hurt us, Toriel?" A fireball blazed past his head, but he dodged in time. She met his eyes, tears falling down her cheeks. The fireballs dimmed, smoke dissipating.  
"What are you doing?" She asked half out of frustration. The four stood next to each other, defiant. The fireballs only barely danced around them before sputtering out. "Attack or run away!" Another barrage of fire streamed past them, but as a unit they stepped out of the way.  
"What are you proving this way?" The fire came and they dodged, coming dangerously close at times but always escaping it last second. "Fight me or leave!" She was nearly crying now, her shoulders heaving with almost-half-sobs. The four, especially Patton found their faces a bit wet, though they chalked it up to tears from the heat or sweat. "Stop looking at me that way." She said thickly. They didn't move, except to get away from the dying flames. "Go away!" She yelled, a final blast of heat singing their hair as the room filled with bright embers. It was silent except for the crackling of fading fires broken out on the floor, their breathing ragged.  
Toriel lowered her hands, the fire disappearing and the room repairing itself. "I know you want to go home, but..." The smoke cleared out, and a dark trail dampened the fur on her cheeks. "But please, go upstairs now." Patton sat Logan down, who clutched his leg as a new wave of pain washed in. Toriel held up her hand, and their cuts and burns slowly began to heal themselves. Logan was still a bit unfortunate though, as some of the deeper tissue scarred and a felt an odd prickling sensation through the skin. (Better than pain, he supposed.)  
"I promise to take good care of you here." She said with a pitiful expression. "I know we do not have much, but... we can have a good life here." Her voice lowered to a whisper. "Why are you making this so difficult?" Patton sniffed, though the only sound was the quiet, occasional patter of Toriel's tears on the floor. "Please, go upstairs." The four remained still, Logan's leg healed, though a bit tender. "Ha, ha... Pathetic, is it not? I cannot save even a single child..." Patton winced, and they stared at her with a somber look as she recomposed herself. "No, I understand. You would just be unhappy down here. The Ruins are very small, once you get used to them. It would not be right for you to live in a place like this. My expectations... my loneliness... my fear... for you, my children, I will put them aside." She turned to face the door, unable to meet their eyes again. The battle ended.  
"If you truly wish to leave the Ruins, I will not stop you. However, when you leave... please, do not come back. I hope you understand." Toriel turned back around, staring at the four for a minute. Patton took a step forward to hug her, the monster leaning down for him. Roman stepped forward to hug her as well, prompting a little sad smile as she reached out an arm. Patton looked back and beckoned to Virgil silently, though he wasn't much of a hugger. He put his shoulder around his brother and shot an expectant (but gentle) look at Logan. (He had rather mixed feelings about the situation, what with his new scar, but seeing as she healed it, it seemed unnecessary to hold a grudge.) He also went up, albeit tentatively, and patted Toriel's shoulder. After what felt like a long while she stood upright again, the four detaching. "Goodbye, my children." She said, walking back to the entrance of the room. Toriel looked back at them for a moment before going back through the hall.

Ahead of them the door to the exit of the Ruins loomed, the dark symbol imposing and ominous. They pushed it open and walked down a long, dark hallway. "Clever." Came a familiar, high-pitched voice. They came into the darkest room, with only a light from the top shining down on a tiny, golden flower. The four clenched their teeth, Patton having an especially red face. "Very clever. You think you're all really smart, don't you? In this world, it's kill or be killed. So you were able to play by your own rules. You spared the life of a single person. Hee hee hee... I bet you feel really great, you didn't kill anybody this time. But what if you meet a relentless killer? You'll die and you'll die and you'll die. Until you're tired of trying. What will you do then? Will you kill out of frustration, or will you give up entirely on this world, and let me inherit the power to control it? I am the prince of this world's future. Don't worry, my little monarchs, my plan isn't regicide. This is so much more interesting."  
Flowey shrieked with laughter, his eyes bulging and his fangs bared, before he shot down back into the ground.


	11. Snowdin- Part 1

A draft of cold air blew into the corridor as they walked forward, their breaths appearing wispy in the growing darkness. A shiver went down Patton's spine, and he untied his sweater from around his arms, putting it on. After what seemed like half an hour they saw a sliver of bluish-white light coming from the bottom of the massive door at the end of the hall, illuminating the mossy purple-stone floor. The four came upon the end, muscling open the door with a combined effort. It opened with a thundering creak to a white-blanketed forest, the cave ceiling far above and partly shrouded by mist. A tall, dark wood flanked either side of the snow-covered path, snowflakes drifting down from the air and frost enveloping the high branches.  
"It's snowing." Virgil stated, pulling his hoodie over his head. Logan's eyebrows furrowed as he stared blearily upward.  
"That can't be right." He bent down and picked up a bit of snow, rubbing it in between his fingers. "Hm."  
"Logan." Roman took a step forward. "This is snow."  
"It can't be." Logan straightened. "That would require an atmosphere much larger than the inside of a mountain. There must be a cave near the peak where snow accumulates... Yes, it would fall down here over time. I suppose the natural temperature is sustained at or below freezing?" He rambled like that for some time.  
"It could be magic." Patton suggested. Logan restrained himself from scoffing.  
"I... doubt that." They decided to go ahead and get moving, especially as they weren't wearing suitable winter gear. The four walked down the path, stepping over twigs half-buried in the snow and looking up at the treetops. A sudden crack filled the air, making them freeze. Roman turned, but the only thing behind them was a broken branch, snapped in half.  
"That's weird." Virgil looked around suspiciously. Nobody seemed to be around; probably a squirrel or something (The fact that squirrels tend not to go out in cold conditions didn't do much to comfort him.) He could swear he saw a short, human-like shadow pass in the trees, but he couldn't find anything even straining his eyes. The crunching of footsteps in the path made them all stop in their tracks again, and a rickety wooden bridge blocked their way. "If it's a fight you want, we won't hesitate." Roman blurted out, somewhat annoyed by the suspense.  
"Be reasonable." Logan whispered, shushing him. "There's no need to be secretive." He raised his voice so the culprit would hear. The footsteps drew closer. "Let's just be diplomatic about all this."  
"We're friendly." Patton added. The footsteps stopped just behind them, and they could feel unnaturally cold breath down their necks.  
"Humans." Came a deep, low, slow-speaking voice. "Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around, and shake my hand." The way he said that made a small pit in Logan's stomach, but he shook it off and put out his hand, hitting the stranger's palm and eliciting a loud, deflating noise.  
"Heheh... the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. It's always funny." The shadowy figure in question was a stout, robust skeleton wearing a blue hoodie, black basketball shorts and fuzzy pink slippers. Patton cracked up, Roman giving a chuckle, while Virgil eyed the skeleton warily (Something about his smile was... off-putting.) and Logan stood very uncomfortably. (The whole concept of magical realm of monsters made him suspicious, to say the least.) "Anyways, you're humans, right? That's hilarious. I'm Sans, Sans the skeleton."(Hardly an earned title, Logan thought to himself.) "I'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now...but, y'know... I don't really care about capturing anybody." (A relief, collectively.) "Now, my brother, Papyrus, he's a human hunting fanatic. Hey, actually, I think that's him over there." He pointed to a tall figure in the distance on the path, bounding towards them. "I have an idea. Go through this gate thingy." Virgil winced at the thought, the white-dusted wood visibly brittle and support bars not nearly wide enough for a person. "Yeah, go right through. My bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone." Apparently the bridge was a sort-of optical illusion, as the entire structure was tilted sideways, the bars actually quite wide. (It hardly made mathematical sense, and Logan's eye began to twitch persistently.) The four walked over the bridge, to an area with a little sentry station and four lamps each entirely suited to the bodily dimensions of an adult human.  
"Quick, behind those conveniently-shaped lamps." They did as he said, the four crouching behind the aforementioned light fixtures, unplugged and standing upright in the snow. The tall figure appeared, another skeleton, but this one tall and skinny (reminiscent of a particular character of a cartoon series from 198X.)  
"'Sup, bro?"  
"You know what's 'up,' brother! It's been eight days and you still haven't calibrated your puzzles. You just hang around outside your station! What are you even doing?"  
"Staring at these lamps. They're really cool. Do you wanna look?" Papyrus stomped his boot into the snow repeatedly.


End file.
